In the overgrown expanse of Goodna Cemetery, a monumental task awaits. Soon, volunteers will begin combing through grass and thick bush, seeking to uncover long-lost headstones that may hold the key to a dark chapter in Queensland’s mental health history.
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These weathered markers, once found, could be all that remains to identify patients from the notorious Wolston Park Mental Hospital, an institution that closed its doors in 2001 but left behind a legacy of alleged abuse and mistreatment spanning decades.
Ipswich City councillor Paul Tully, a cemetery trustee since 1975, reveals a shocking obstacle to the impending search. He reports that approximately 100 headstones were stolen in the 2000s, adding another layer of complexity to the task ahead.
Cr Tully notes that the graves, possibly numbering 192, were exhumed from Wolston Park during roadworks in the 1970s and relocated to Goodna Cemetery.
The urgency of this upcoming effort has been highlighted by a recent announcement. On 8 August 2024, Queensland’s Mental Health Commissioner Ivan Frkovic was directed to launch an inquiry into the health services provided at Wolston Park between the 1950s and 1990s.
This period is marred by widespread allegations of sexual abuse, beatings, chemical restraint, and “shock therapy.”
The planned investigation faces significant hurdles, not least of which is a 100-year ban on releasing patient details. This makes identifying remains a potentially daunting task.
Australian National University historian Adele Chynoweth, author of “Goodna Girls: A History of Children in a Queensland Mental Asylum,” emphasises the importance of records, particularly discharge documents, as a vital first step.
Chynoweth stresses that while understanding who is buried in the cemetery is important, it shouldn’t distract from the primary goal of supporting survivors. She insists that these efforts must complement, not replace, the care for those who lived through the institution’s darker days.
One such survivor, now 52, recounts her harrowing experience after being admitted to Wolston Park in 1988. She describes a place of frequent seclusions, a litany of drugs, and rooms devoid of basic amenities – a far cry from the healing environment it was meant to be.
Today, the facility stands transformed as The Park – Centre for Mental Health at 60 Grindle Road, Wacol. Modern buildings and improved practices distance it from its notorious past. Yet, the old asylum building remains, a silent sentinel to the horrors that once unfolded within its walls.
As the community prepares for the start of the inquiry, expected to begin in about six months, questions linger. Will the findings be made public? Can justice be served after so many years? And perhaps most poignantly, will the upcoming search at Goodna Cemetery finally reveal the secrets of the lost graves, giving names and dignity back to those who suffered in silence?
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The impending efforts at Goodna Cemetery represent more than just a search for headstones. They symbolise a community’s determination to acknowledge a painful past and, perhaps, begin the long-overdue process of healing.
Published 15-August-2024
